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Ruidoso fugitives Ramos and Caughron captured in Texas

Aaron Ramos and Brittany Caughron apprehended, will be expedited to Lincoln County

By Dianne Stallings

dstallings@ruidosonews.com @RuidosoNews on Twitter

Posted:
01/16/2014 11:26:44 AM MST

Aaron Ramos

Ruidoso fugitives Aaron Ramos and Brittany Caughron were taken into custody late Wednesday in Dallas by officers with the U.S. Marshal's Office.

Lincoln County Sheriff Robert Shepperd announced their arrests Thursday. He said as a result of an on-going investigation of the suspects wanted in weapons and drug warrants by officers with the White Mountain Narcotics Enforcement Unit, a request was made to the U.S. Marshal's Office for assistance in tracking the two. Forced entry into a house in Ruidoso Jan. 7, involving multiple law enforcement agencies, failed to flush out the couple.

"Agents received numerous tips related to the two fugitives from the public and learned the two possibly fled to Texas," Shepperd said.

Brittany Caughron

Ramos' mother lives in Texas. The investigation led law enforcement agents to the Dallas area, the sheriff said.

"Both fugitives were taken into custody after the marshals gained entry into an undisclosed location and found the two hiding in a closet together," Shepperd said.

At the time of their arrest, the subjects were in possession of a small amount of narcotics, according to federal officers. However, no additional charges will be filled in Texas and the two subjects will be extradited back to Lincoln County to face charges alleged in the warrants, Shepperd said.

The investigation uncovered evidence of additional criminal activity, which the White Mountain Narcotics Enforcement Unit will continue to investigate and additional charges may be filed, he said.

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Ramos, 36, was wanted on outstanding warrants for two counts of trafficking a controlled substance, one count each of possession of a dangerous drug for sale, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. Caughron, 23, was wanted for failure to comply with conditions of release following an arrest for possession of heroin, the sheriff said.

Magill defends raid

Responding to criticism that methods used in the house raid to find Ramos last week were "excessive," Ruidoso Police Chief Joe Magill explained to village councilors Tuesday that when a possibly armed and dangerous suspect is involved, safety of officers and the public comes first.

Councilors Joseph Eby and Lynn Crawford said they were contacted by neighbors and other residents about the multiple-agency action that included a helicopter, forced entry and diversionary devices.

Magill said the White Mountain Narcotics Enforcement Unit is composed of officers from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, the Ruidoso Police Department, the Ruidoso Downs Police Department and officials with the 12th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Sitting on its governing board are Sheriff Robert Shepperd, Ruidoso Downs Police Chief Chris Rupp, an assistant district attorney and Magill.

"Prior to that raid, we knew that our (alleged) drug offender, Aaron Ramos, had two assault rifles (and had threatened some individuals), and we were dealing with a dangerous subject," Magill said. "I just want to say we as police officers make calculated risks and get paid to do that, but you don't get paid for calculated suicide. So we use the tools we had available to us to apprehend individuals like Mr. Ramos. We knew he was living in that apartment in Pine Ridge. We had a lot of intelligence."

The neighboring apartments were cleared of other tenants, he said. As many tools as were available were used to protect the officers and public before the raid took place, Magill said. One of those tools was the New Mexico State Police tactical team.

"The police department doesn't have the money nor manpower nor material to have a tactical team. It takes hours and hours of training, so we decided to use the best in the area, which was the New Mexico State Police tactical team, who do that for a living," he said. "They didn't come in on their own. We planned this with them. The federal government also was involved in some of the charges, but they didn't come in on their own."

The decision on how to conduct the raid was left with the tactical team, which used many tools, including a helicopter, he said.

"The reason you do that when you arrest a violent subject with helmet, shields and modern weapons, is that they usually just give up," Magill said. "They are effective tools."

The owner of the house also was notified in advance of possible damage to the doors, but being a covert operation, the media and councilors were not told ahead of time and early morning was picked to add to the element of surprise, he said.